JAPAN
Virus cushions spending dip
Consumer spending in February fell at a slower-than-expected pace, as households scrambled for protective masks, toilet paper and staple food amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, while spending on travel and entertainment slumped, government data showed yesterday. Household spending fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier, marking the fifth straight month of declines, but it was a smaller drop than a median market forecast, which called for a 3.9 percent decline. Spending on toilet paper jumped 47 percent from a year earlier, while spending on domestic package tours slumped 37 percent, the data showed.
VIETNAM
Rice exports could resume
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked the government to resume rice exports, but to limit the volume for this month and next month to 800,000 tonnes, a government statement said yesterday. The volume would be 40 percent lower than a year earlier, the government said, adding that 400,000 tonnes would be exported this month. The plan is awaiting government approval, as a March 25 ban prohibited new rice export contracts to ensure a sufficient domestic supply amid the pandemic.
UNITED STATES
Cash sped up to small firms
The Federal Reserve on Monday said that it would create a new facility to help speed the flow of funds to small companies through the government’s coronavirus stimulus program. The program would provide term financing to banks backed by the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, the central bank said in a statement. Banks have reportedly struggled to understand eligibility details and smaller lenders have especially said that they would exhaust their ability to loan under the program before the Department of the Treasury made funds available. The central bank’s move would help banks bridge that gap by lending to the banks and accepting the Paycheck Protection Program loans as collateral.
ARGENTINA
Virus delays bond payoffs
The government on Monday announced that it is postponing payment on US dollar-denominated bonds until next year to prioritize spending on the pandemic. The decree covers interest and amortization of capital on public debt issued under Argentine law in US dollars. No announcement has been made on debt issued in the US or elsewhere. It did not specify the total amount affected, but media organizations reported that it could reach US$10 billion, with the first payments due next month. The country in February postponed payment on the equivalent of US$1.7 billion in peso-denominated debt.
GHANA
China debt hefty: minister
China must do more to help ease the debt burden of African countries facing economic calamity from the pandemic, Ghanaian Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta said during a conversation on Monday with Washington-based Center for Global Development president Masood Ahmed, which was posted on the think tank’s Web site. “African debt to China is US$145 billion or so, over US$8 billion of payments is required this year... So that needs to be looked at,” Ofori-Atta said. African governments are calling for US$100 billion in assistance, including support for a moratorium on all external debt and eventually some debt write-offs.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
RSS